Pronunciation

How to pronounce “position

“position” is pronounced /pəˈzɪʃən/ (puh-ZI-shuhn) in American English and /pəzɪʃən/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “it”.
The sound

Say “position” in 3 beats

Say it like this

position

/pəˈzɪʃən/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /pəzɪʃən/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

3 beats
  1. pos
  2. itstress
  3. ionʃən
IPA (American)
/pəˈzɪʃən/
IPA (British)
/pəzɪʃən/
Respelling
puh-ZI-shuhn
Syllables
3 — pos-IT-ion
Stress
Stress the second syllable: pos-IT-ion. “it” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/pəˈzɪʃən/

British

/pəzɪʃən/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Meaning

What “position” means

  1. noun

    the particular portion of space occupied by something

    he put the lamp back in its place

  2. noun

    a point occupied by troops for tactical reasons

  3. noun

    a way of regarding situations or topics etc.

    consider what follows from the positivist view

Say it in a sentence

The position was advertised internally before it went public.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

position”, answered

How do you pronounce “position”?

“position” is pronounced /pəˈzɪʃən/ (puh-ZI-shuhn) in American English and /pəzɪʃən/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “it”. Build it as pos-IT-ion, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “position” have?

3: pos · it · ion. The beat lands on the second, “it”.

Is “position” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /pəˈzɪʃən/ (puh-ZI-shuhn); British English says /pəzɪʃən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “position” mean?

As a noun: the particular portion of space occupied by something For example: “he put the lamp back in its place” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “position”?

Stress the second syllable: pos-IT-ion. “it” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “position” and see every sound

Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.